Shingle roof and material relating thereto



June 23, 1936.

N. P. HARSHBERGER SHINGLE ROOF AND MATERIAL RELATING THERETO Filed April 13 um u WT a u nuo ATTORNEY fm1/W" ratentedf June 2 3, 14936 UNITED STATES PATENT f OFFICE SHINGLE ROOF AND MATERIAL RELATING THERETO Norman P. Harshberger, Scarsdale, N. Y., as-

signor to Bakelite Building Products Co., Inc., New York, N. Y., a corporation of Delaware Application April 13, 1933, serial No. 665,861

14 Claims.

This invention relatesV to shingle roofs-cement coated shingles, and methods and materials relating thereto and is` a continuation-impart of my Patent No. 1,913,667, granted June 13, 1933.

In the roofing industry up to the present time thin pliable shingles have been made consisting of the ordinary saturated felt base having an asphalt coating with a layer of particles such as siate, to give them a presentable surface and to somewhat protect the base. This type of material is quite fiabby and has been open to the objections of lifting very easily under the action of the wind, curling after a short time due to evaporation of the volatile oils in the base causl high cost, their inability to be laid over roofs Vover roofs that required complete repairing or having irregular contours, unless a number of dierent shapes are used, their difllculty of fitting and cutting, the necessity of applying fasteners at some particular point that is not 'the best, lthe fact that their weight limits their use to a roof built to stand the strain of a heavy mas's andthe fact that they could .not be used whendesired for siding purposes. The concrete monolithic construction was opensto expansion ing them into a coating o'f asphalt and depending upon its adhesive properties for security. Production costs and underwriters ratings have been of first importance and upon them have depended the type of particles used. When an inexpensive article Awas desired, sand or ne` crushed slate were used and when'a presentable quality product was desired dense particles, preferably a natural slate, have been generally used l because of their wearing. qualities, permanence of color, and substantial weight. The latter fact enabled the manufacturer to` skimp on base materials andv yet come withinlthe necessary requirements ofoverall weight for a favorable underwriters rating. Itcan be readily seen that in addition to the effects of solar heat, and of the weather in wearing down the adhesive ma- (Cl. S-8) terial in the interstices between the mineral particles such practices have been contributing causes to the destructive results heretofore mentioned. I Y

Again, in the creation of decoration and design the important factor of structural relation` ship between a coating -and its bonding medium has not been given proper consideration. The instability of dyes employed in coloring mineral particles with their resultant staining under the action of the weather and the insuiciency and cost of natural colored stones, brought into use the application of colored coatings over a bituminous coated base or ahmineral coated base. The substances used for these coatings have usually been of a character that would amalgamate with the bituminous material or one of van adhesive type that would form a film over the mineral particles. These coatings employed were no more weather resistant than the bituminous coating and because of expansion and contraction diiiicuities and the lack of a structural bond, peeling and other deteriorating effects soon ysei; in and destroyed the designs.

It is therefore the general object of this invention to overcome the faults and defects of the prior art by providing roofing materials with a surfacing that will wear uniformly over its entire coverage and is properly anchored to its base and thus producing a better'and more serviceable product. More specifically the objects of my invention maybe enumerated as the provision of A roofing element that will provide the character and weather durability of rigid tiles or monolithic roofs at a much lower cost. l

A shingle element that is extremely serviceable and adapted for any type of structure irrespective of position, contour or climatic location,

A'pliable shingle element which resists winding up, or curling of its edges.

A roofing element having a wholly flexible base and a rigidifying coating but in which the resulting article remains quite pliable,

A surface roofing element in which the hardened coating controls the expansion or contraction of the elastic base.

A coated shingle element having freedom of expansion in the plane ofits hardened coating, A serviceable shingle element using inexpensive base materials with a hardened hydraulic cement coating which is well adapted for reroong A purposes, Y

A shingle having a semi-rigid. coating yet sufficiently pliable to be laid over irregularly formed and which will be of a formation that will result in no excessive accumulation of snow at the intersection of the shingles to cause drainage diiculties,

A shingle element that will possess a textured surface and will be of pleasing character,

A shingle element having any of the aforementioned characteristics, which may be made on moving shingle material in a continuous process,

A novel method of producing colors or designs on roofing sheets in which a wash of material is applied to the roofing web or strips, the latter having a plurality of high and low areas therein, into which the wash will flow to cover up the surfacing in the low areas and reinforce them, the surfacing in the high areas projecting above said wash and thereby producing a contrasting effect on the roofing sheet, yA shingle element in which the coloring material utilized for its surface is mixed with a binder such as hydraulic cement to strengthen the roong sheet and yrender the same more Weather resistant,

A method of producing colored designs on roofing material which is simple to carry out, effective and well adapted for the purposes described,

A novel method of producing colored designs on roofing sheets in which the coloring material is mixed with a binder such as hydraulic cement to strengthen the roofing sheet and render the same more weather resistant,

A roong element in which the coating employed will be anchored to the base by means possessing irregular craggy formations and pitlike crevices and in which a chemical reaction is obtained between the coating and said means to form a. solid mass,

A hydraulic cement coated shingle element that may be shipped with low transportation cost because of its low weight compared with present roofing materials.

These and other objects and features of the invention, relating to the improved article and all its parts and combinations will in part be obvious and in part be pointed out in the subsequent, de'

tailed description and in the claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, wherein f Fig. 1 is a plan view of a roofing strip manufactured in accordance with the improved method showing one form of ornamentation.

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view of the material before the wash.is applied thereto.

Fig. 4 is a similar view after the wash has been applied.

Fig. 5 is a plan view of an individual shingle in one of the possible forms showing the two-tone effect which may be produced by the improved method of ornamentation.

Fig. 6 is a side view of a single shingle element Fig. 9 is a side sectional view of Fig. 8 illustrating how well applicants article is adapted to hug irregular surfaces.

In carrying out the method of making my shingle elements 2 a continuously moving com- 5 position roong sheet or web 4 is preferably utilized. A

My improved product is formed by treating a web of a flexible fibrous material, for instance, a base made from vegetable fibres, wool, asbestos l or'hair, alone, in combination, or with other materials and treating the web to resist water and decay by saturating it with a suitable substance, for instance, a low melting point asphalt and thereafter applying to it an additional adhesive l layer 6, for instance, a high melting point bituminous material, or one of a resinous type.

In order to secure a rm hold on the adhesive layer and to present a structurally adapted surface for the application of my cement coating to be applied I utilize mineral particles 8 of a porous nature, having irregular pitted crevices of substantial size and irregular craggy outlines as distinguished from crushed brick or the like. Because I desire my finished product to have a somewhat similar overall weight to that of present day mineral coated roofing, I prefer these particles to be of a light mass and possessive of considerable inherent physical strength. Further, I prefer particles having a composition that will unite themvcheini'cally with my cement coating.

I have found by practical experiment that mineral particles formed from certain cooled liquid residue or slag in the reduction of metallic ores possess these desirable characteristics. The slags Which'I use have a composition similar to cement and react with water in a similar manner to cement, that is, the alumina and silica minerals of the slag react with water to forni hydrated aluminates and silicates. Further, when the ce- 40 ment coating is applied, this type of slag reacts much more vigorously in the presence of the free lime which may be liberated from the cement than it will with other materials. I prefer to use slags having ingredients, aluminum oxide, silicon oxide and iron oxide of less than 60% (better less than %)v by weight of their composition and preferably not less than 20%; and/or slags preferably between 30 and 70% in their calcium oxide and magnesium oxide content and/or slags hav- 50 ing an aluminum oxide to silicon oxide ratio of no less than one-third by weight.

The physical structure of these slags depends upon how they are cooled, the temperature and moisture content of their surroundings. For instance, if the slag is poured upon a dry bank it will be less porous than when poured upon a wet bank. For my purpose I prefer the latter type.

The particles described are partially embedded in the adhesive coating by the usual roofing 50 practices and it can be readily appreciated that due to their irregular shape the adhesive will secure a rm hold upon them and where the particles are porous will in addition ll their cavities to give a rmer hold. Thereafter, I apply a coating I0 preferably thin, comprising hydraulic cement of natural color, colored hydraulic cement or hydraulic cement and other aggregates which is applied forcibly or otherwise over the face of the web and either runs or may be rolled into the spaces between the mineral particles, and into the irregular crevices where it is a porous mineral particle, so that when it sets a product is made in which a cementitious chemical bond exists between the slag particles and surface coating and in which said coating and the adhesive material to which the particles were originally-applied will be dovetailed to said particles to produce a` structural anchorage.

Thereafter, the web is cut into shingle sizes and permitted to set and harden in any desired way. Further coatings may be applied if desired before or after the cutting takes place. Fig. 7 shows an element` having both sides and edges coated with the coating wholly above the mineral particles.

When it is desired to produce ornamental effects the mineral surfaced sheet is run through suitable mechanism for forming a plurality of depressed areas or spaced apart dotted indentatlons I2 arranged to form lines of'demarcatlon, designs, or arranged over the entire face of' the web as desired. The mineral surfacing in the y indentatlons Will be depressed below the mineral `surfacing 'on the portions of the web which are not depressed, as shown in Fig. 3, or the surface may be lowered by crushing the particles in portions to be depressed.- It is preferred that the hydraulic cementwash Iii applied over the face of the web in this instance be of a different color from the mineral coating. It may, however, be of a natural color with or without pigments. The wash will fill in the indented portions and will cover over the mineral material within said indentatlonsv, as shown in Fig. 4. The mineral surfacing material on the portions of the web which are not indented, however, will project above said wash and therefore a varied tone effect l `will be produced between the depressed portions the indentations along narrowllnes to define the edges of individual figures, as shown in Figs. 1

and 2; the definition lines lwill give adifferent effect from the other portions of the sheet.

`Thus a shingle element is produced having a 'thin flexible base made of saturated felt, an adhesive coating and mineral particles and to which has been applied a coating of hydraulic cement.

The result when the coating has fully set is a thin shingle which still has the pliable characteristics of the original base but which is rigidied to someextent and at the desired place by the coating, and which has a uniform wearing surface.

The shingle element is relatively pliable when bent in such direction as to put the cement coat` lng under tension as at I4 inFig. 6, but resists flexing whenv bent in such a way as to compress the cement coating` as at I8. This flexing is per missible without injuriouseffects to the shingle because of the sure and rugged anchorage that has been provided for the coating.

The shingle is substantially flat Aand can be laid as ordinary flexible felt base shingles giving a large coverage for the amount of roofing material used and providing an inexpensive roofing material but however having sufficient rigidity and fireproofness to make it much better than vthe ordinary felt base shingles heretofore used and. as already mentioned,- a surface is obtained having uniform wearing qualities.

Figs. 8 and 9 s how an assembly of the finished shingle elements 2 as they are mounted upon roofing surfaces. Fig.r8 more particularly shows how these shingle elements are used to reroof an old distorted shingled roof I8, and how they hug the irregular surfaces. As the shingles are laid with the hydraulic cement coating forming the butt or portion exposed to the weather, they firmly resist the effect of the wind in lifting them or turning up their edges, and the consequent accumulation of snow thereunder. rigidity of the hydraulic cement coating resists any tendency of the shingle to curl due to the action of thev sun. Even though-,the coating be relatively thin, it prevents the volatlleoils from drying out of the base, thereby preventing dcteriorationof the shingle elements.

It is known that asphalt shingles under the action of the weather develop cracks ln the vasphalt coating and absorb and retain considerable moisture in their felted base and that water accumulating on the asphalt Isurfaceof the lap joints of the underlying shingles takes considerable time to evaporate. Also because of a potential difference of temperature, particularly .in

cold weather between the top and back sides of In securing these shingles, short inexpensive nails 20 may be used due to the relative thinncss of the shingle, and they maybe inserted at any point where most effective. This is not true in the prior art tiles because they are thicker and more massive, and the short inexpensive nails I use either would not reach the roof deck .or would not penetrate the deck 4su'fllclently to firmly secure them in place. Also, because there is a considerable portion of the nail above the roof deck in a thick tile, the effective moment-of any force tending to v-move the tile is greatly increased over a thin shingle lying flat against the roof deck. Further than this, with the arched tiles of the prior art it is impossible to always strike a nail at the places where nails might be desirable and 'at the same time get a flrm hold on the roof deck. On the other hand. in my shingle the nails maybe driven at any desired point.

Also, because of the excellent foundation provided for the cement coating the points of the nails will not fracture the area surrounding its head and also the cement coating will provide a rigid compression area beneath the head of the nail to prevent squashing or shearing of the shingle by the nail or its applying means.

A great advantage of my shingles is that only one shape of shingle need be delivered to a job. It is impossible to make a complete roof of one shape of the rigid tile, as the type suitable for the main body of the roof cannot be made to fit all of the hips, valleys and projections. 'The shingles of the present invention, however. can easily be adapted to roof decks and other 'surfaces which have irregularitles, such as, for ex- Also, thc

itself by reason of its plialpility and wide nailing range.

From a consideration of the foregoing description of my invention it can readily be seen that I have produced a product in which I am` enabled to use inexpensive materials and ingredients that result in a vastly improved product fabricated at low cost.

In View of the foregoing description, it is evident that many changes may be made in the shingle and the process of making same. It is, therefore, desired that the invention be construed including equivalents and as broadly as the claims taken in conjunction with the prior art may allow.

I claim:

1. As an article of manufacture, roong comprising a fibrous base, a layer of porous mineral slag adhesively fixed to said base, and a layer of hydraulic cement covering said porous mineral and structurally bonded by the latter to said base.

2. As an article of manufacture, roong comprising a fibrous base, a layer of highly porous mineral material adhesively fixed to said base,

- and a layer of hydraulic cement covering, chemically combined with, and structurally anchored to said porous mineral and bonded by the latter to said base.

3. As an article of manufacture, pliable roofing comprising a fibrous base, a layer of highly porous mineral adhesively fixed to said base, and a layer of hydraulic cement and an aggregate covering and anchored to said porous mineral material and bonded by the' latter to said base.

4. A pliable roofing shingle comprising a waterproofed fibrous base, a layer of inorganic water reactive porous material adhesively secured to said base, and a coating comprising hydraulic cement.

5. A pliable shingle element comprising a base, irregularly shaped porous slag pieces on said base, and a coating comprising the hardened product of an inorganic substantially water insoluble pulverulent material and a liquid, said pulverulent material being settable by a chemical reaction in the presence of the liquid and in the absence of free oxygen.

6. Roong comprising a fibrous base, an adhesive layer, a water reactive mineral secured to said adhesive layer and a coating comprising hydraulic cement.

'7. A shingle element comprising a waterproofed fibrous base, a bituminous layer on said base, a porous siliceous water reactive mineral partially embedded in said bituminous layer and a coating comprising hydraulic cement.

8. A shingle element comprising a fibrous base, a mineral material anchored to said base and a coating comprising hydraulic cement bonded to said mineral material, said mineral material being capable of reacting vigorously to set in the presence of free lime liberated from the hydraulic cement.

9. A method of making shingle elements comprising the steps of providing a base layer, then applying an adhesive layer on said base layer and then applying a surfacing on said adhesive layer comprising irregular shaped pieces of porous slag, said surfacing having applied-thereto a coating, said coating comprising hydraulic cement.

10. A shingle element comprising a fibrous base, porous mineral material anchored to said base, and having portions indented below other portions thereof producing a design and a hydraulic cement coating over and penetrating said porous mineral and covering over the porous mineral in the indented portions.

11. An assembly of hydraulic cement coated 5 shingle elements each comprising a pliable base impregnated with a waterproofing material and adhesively gripping a united highly porous alkaline surface layer comprising a hardened hy draulic cement and porous slag particles, said ele- 1o ments being surfaced on-their exposed sides and being laid in overlapping courses with the impregnated back of each shingle element overlapping the hydraulic cement coating of its underlying shingle element for a substantial disl5 tance back from its butt edge, said highly porous and alkaline surface in contact with said impregnated backs being moisture absorptive and substantially preventing mildew and subsequent rotting of the bases. 20

12. An assembly of hydraulic cement surfaced shingle elements each comprising a fibrous back treated with a bituminous waterproofing material and including a bituminous adhesive gripping a united substantially porous alkaline surface layer 25 compr.sing a hardened hydraulic cement and irregular mineral pieces, said elements being surfacedy on their exposed sides and being laid in loverlapping courses with the bitumen treated back of the shingles overlapping the hydraulic 30 cement surfacing of immediate underlying shingles for a substantial distance back from their butt edges, said substantially porous and alkaline surfaces in contact with said bitumen treated backs substantially preventing fungus growth and 35 subsequent rotting of the felted back.

v13. In a surface covering, substantially thin shingle elements secured in position by driven anchoring means having entering appendages, said shingles including a substantially thin water 40 resistant fibrous base and a surface strata of hardened hydraulic cement localized beneath said anchoring means and of suiiicient thickness to substantially prevent squashing or shearing of the shingle elements by said anchoring means, the shinglesbeing laid in overlapping courses with the entering appendages of the anchoring means pierced through the cementitious strata and with said anchoring means driven flush thereagainst without causing substantial fracture thereof.

14. In a surface covering, hydraulic cement surfaced shingle elements secured thereto by driven anchoring means, said shingles each comprising a fibrous back treated with a bituminous Waterproofing material and including a bituminous adhesive gripping a united substantially porous alkaline surface layer comprising a hardened hydraulic cement and irregular mineral pieces, said elements being surfaced on their exposed sides and being laid in overlapping courses with the bitumen treated back of the shingles overlapping the hydraulic cement surfacing of immediate underlying shingles for a substantial distance back from their butt edges and with said anchoring means piercing the cement layer and positioned substantially ush thereagainst, said substantially porous and alkaline surfaces in contact withsaid bitumen treated backs aiding substantially in preventingfungus growth and subsequent rotting of the fibrous back and having suicient thickness to substantially prevent squashing or shearing of the shingle elements by said anchoring means.

NORMAN P. HARSI-IBERGER. 

